Academic archives open to public for the first time

12 March 2014

Years of wide-ranging and ground-breaking research will be made available to the general public for the first time as Aston University opens its first online research portal.

From March 12th, the institution’s new online Aston Research Explorer portal will allow anyone to trawl through a huge variety of research projects and find information about the University’s Schools of Study, Centres and research groups.

As part of the new system, Aston’s academics will each have an online profile detailing their interests and specialisms and displaying their research achievements. It is hoped Aston Research Explorer will make it easier for prospective PhD students to make enquiries and applications to members of staff based on their profile information.

Professor Martin Griffin, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said:“The Aston Research Explorer is a great resource for anyone who wants to find out more about research and researchers at Aston. We have designed the portal so that it provides an intuitive and easily-searchable interface, which caters for a wide range of interests: from prospective students, to researchers, people working in industry or members of the public.

“Research in Universities has not typically been easy for the public to access. The Aston Research Explorer represents a significant step forward in our efforts to share our research with the wider community. We would be pleased to hear feedback on the new service.”

Research in Universities has not typically been easy for the public to access. The Aston Research Explorer represents a significant step forward

Recently published research reports, soon to be available to the public, include an assessment of how attractive the UK is for future foreign investment, an eight step guide for managing green innovation in the automotive industry and a doctoral thesis on the benefits of employees balancing work and family life effectively.

Access will also be granted to the University’s funded grant awards and interactive graphs providing visualisations of researcher’s collaborations and linked research.